Animal Classification

how many different types of animal are there in the world?

© John Blatchford

Taxonomy is the science of animal classification and of working out what is related to what. How does Suite101 categorise the millions of species that exist?

We often think of animals as if there were only two main types, those with backbones (the vertebrates), and those without (the invertebrates). Nothing could be further from the truth! All zoologists agree that ‘Animals’ are best divided into groups, of equal status, called ‘Phyla’. Exactly how many ‘Phyla’ there are is still a matter of debate, but there are certainly more than 35. The vertebrates are all placed together in one sub-phylum, but the group that we generally know as the invertebrates actually represent 97% of all animals, in all the other phyla.

Insects are simply one of 16 or more classes within the phylum arthropoda. (You can find an excellent 'clickable' guide to American arthropods here.) Other invertebrates would include such diverse creatures as; the squid and cowries - (mollusca), the starfish (echinodermata), the earthworm (annelida), the jellyfish (coelenterata), the sponges (porifera), and about 30 other phyla. (Remember – each phylum is of equal value, taxonomically speaking!).

Here, in the 'Fish and Insects' section on Suite101 my articles will be categorised as insects (more species than all the other animals species put together!), other invertebrates (the rest of the invertebrates), and fish.

The category ‘fish&insects-general’ will be restricted to articles that do not concern particular groups (for example some of the Big Ideas like Evolution, Disease Vectors, Anthropomorphism and Human Effects on the environment.)

Reptiles and Amphibians’, the ‘Birds’ and the ‘Mammals’ have their own sections.

So – here is how ‘animals’ are grouped on Suite101:

And then there are other sections which deal with animals in special contexts:

Cats.

Dogs.

Horses.

Pet Care.

Wildlife Preservation.

The 'Fish and Insects' section is divided into:

'Fish and Insects' blogs will be used to explain how various articles are related, and to express my personal views on subjects, while my articles will concentrate on individual species or groups of animals, with the occasional more general topic such as evolution.

See also: Invertebrate Classification

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The copyright of the article Animal Classification in Pet Care is owned by John Blatchford. Permission to republish Animal Classification must be granted by the author in writing.




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